• Question: Hi Naomi, are animal and human bacteria the same? If so would they use the same cures to kill it?

    Asked by to Naomi on 26 Jun 2014. This question was also asked by .
    • Photo: Naomi Osborne

      Naomi Osborne answered on 26 Jun 2014:

      What a great question! And the answer is yes!

      Humans and animals all have bacteria that live on their skin and inside them and the number of different bacteria varies between humans and also between humans and animals. But some people actually share the same bacteria that live in their gut with their cats or dogs!

      There are bacteria that cause illness in both animals and humans which are treated with the same antibiotics. But there are also bacteria that make us ill but not animals – such as those that cause food poisoning – and these actually come from animals. A bacterium called Campylobacter lives in most chickens and doesn’t make them ill – but if we ingest the bacteria because chicken isn’t cooked properly, it can give us food poisoning. So it’s very important to handle and cook meat properly.

      Hope this answers your question 🙂

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